Press Release: Electric Utility Restructuring Committee to Meet in Fairbanks

Alaska State Legislature
News from the Joint Committee
on Electric Utility Restructuring

Wendy Lindskoog, Senate Majority Press Secretary, (907) 258-8184
Jerry Ritter, House Majority Press Secretary, (907) 258-8164
716 West 4th Avenue, Suite 510
Anchorage, AK 99501
http://www.akrepublicans.org
Actuality Line: 1-800-478-6540

Electric Utility Restructuring Committee to Meet

Committee to Hear Public Testimony in Fairbanks

For Immediate Release: September 11, 1998 Contact: Senator Bert Sharp at (907) 452-7885.

Anchorage -- Senator Bert Sharp (R-Fairbanks) and Representative Norman Rokeberg (R-Anchorage) will co-chair the third of four meetings of the Joint Committee on Electric Utility Restructuring, Wednesday, September 16^th in Fairbanks. The committee will hear public testimony in the Fairbanks Legislative Information office at 119 N. Cushman from 10 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Based on feedback received from the electrical industry and electrical consumers, the committee will formulate written recommendations for the next Legislature on whether and how to implement electric utility restructuring in Alaska. According to Senator Sharp, everyone who receives an electrical bill could be largely impacted through changes in how electrical service is delivered.

"I think it’s real important the general public understand the potential ramifications of electrical utility deregulation. In addition to information we are gathering in Alaska, we are accumulating information from the Lower 48 states where they have already started initiating deregulation. While some states have success stories, many have experienced some real disasters. We don’t want Alaska to get on the train until we can avoid a lot of the train wrecks," said Sharp.

Representative Rokeberg said the outcome of this issue could greatly impact Alaskans’ electrical bills. "We hope members of the public, businesses and organizations will share their concerns and opinions with us at our meetings," said Rokeberg. "Because partial deregulation of the electrical industry will influence competition, consumer choice, and the sale of retail electricity, it is especially important we receive public input."

The committee has heard testimony from the Anchorage public and from invited participants, including the Alaska Public Utilities Commission, Anchorage Municipal Light and Power, Chugach Electric Association, Golden Valley Electric Association, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Matanuska Electric Association, Alaska Rural Electric Cooperative Association, Aurora Power and a representative from Four Dam Pools.

The fourth and final meeting will be held in November. In addition to Sharp and Rokeberg, committee members include Senators Robin Taylor (R-Wrangell), Al Adams (D-Kotzebue), and Loren Leman (R-Anchorage) and Representatives Alan Austerman (R-Kodiak), Fred Dyson (R-Eagle River), and John Davies (D-Fairbanks).

# # #

Note: The September 16^th meeting will be teleconferenced to the following LIO’s: Juneau, Kodiak, Kenai, Anchorage, Mat-Su and Barrow.